Robinson: Why can't we be friends?

I have seen and heard a lot of things in my life that have infuriated me, and as you know, many of my opinions about the things that make my head want to explode have ended up in my columns.

Today is no different.

Here’s why.

Brian Banks was a star middle linebacker at Long Beach Polytechnic High School in California. He was so impressive on the field that he was attracting interest from football powerhouses like USC, Ohio State and Michigan.

He decided to go with USC and had agreed to a full scholarship.

That was in 2002. He was 16. Then, his entire world came tumbling down when Wanita Gibson, a classmate, accused him of taking her to an elevator and raping her.

With no forensic evidence and no physical evidence, upon the horrible advice of his attorney (a public defender), Brian pleaded “no contest” to the charges and spent five years in prison.

But he was innocent.

And after he was finally released from prison and registered as a sex offender, forced to wear an ankle bracelet, unable to find work and living with friends and family, Wanita Gibson decided to send him a Facebook friend request.

Yes, that Wanita Gibson.

But wait, there’s more.

Not only did she send him a friend request, but upon agreeing to a face-to-face meeting, Wanita admitted on videotape (with the help of the California Innocence Project) that she made the entire thing up.

They never even had sex. She just lied on him. Then, after sending him to prison, her mother sued the Long Beach School District and received $1.5 million because the “rape” took place on school property. Oh, and her mother knew her daughter was lying the entire time.

So, 10 years later, when Brian is 26 years old, he is finally exonerated and his name cleared. But those are 10 years of his life that he can never get back.

Ten years.

If you could hear what I’m saying while I’m typing this column, your ears would be bleeding, and I’m sure I’d have enough soap in my mouth to clean a small village.

I mean are you kidding me? What kind of person does something like that? I mean how sick, twisted and evil do you have to be to destroy someone’s life with no remorse? For no reason other than material gain?

And how many other men are there like Brian Banks, are or were in prison for crimes they never committed, because they were falsely accused or took the advice of their attorney?

There are so many women and young girls, millions, who have been raped — except they didn’t have the luxury of being rewarded over a million dollars. No, they have had to live with the emotional and sometimes physical scars of their abuse for the rest of their lives. And many never fully recovered. Never.

But yet, Wanita and her mother went on with their lives as if nothing had happened. Then this broad, Wanita, has the audacity to send Brian a friend request? FRIEND???!!!

Why do the words “hell fire and brimstone” keeping popping into my mind?

Fortunately, since word of Brian’s story has gotten out, several NFL teams have offered him the chance to try out, or at least train with them this summer. Team President and CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Derrick Hall, has expressed interest in having Banks join the organization in some capacity.

Regarding Banks, Hall said, “I know he still has dreams and goals of playing in the NFL, but if that doesn’t work out, we would like to help him start a career in sports and see if there is a good fit for him within our organization.”

I am confident Brian Banks will put the pieces of his life together and see his NFL dreams come to fruition in some way.

As for Wanita Gibson and her family, let’s just say they have no clue about the meaning of friendship. But hopefully, one day soon, they will learn the meaning of incarceration.